At First Glance
by Ink Slave
Summary: Human AU. Grimmjow is the manager of a bar that desperately needs a new employee. How convenient that Ichigo Kurosaki, aspiring doctor just happens to need a job? Much more plot ensues to hopefully play on all your emotions enjoy GrimmIchi
1. Chapter 1

"Sir... We're gonna hafta hire-"

"Don't you fucking start that shit with me, Shawlong!" A large male sat hunched over a desk cluttered with a disarray of papers in an office that was otherwise tidy, his hand reaching up to rake back through electric blue locks. "We can't hire anyone else." His tone was low pitched and tired as his hands rubbed over his face. The one that stood beside him was a tall male with long black hair that had been braided and hung over his shoulder; his hands laced behind his back in a casual stance. His body was slim though it was obvious that he was in shape.

"Money is not an issue-" He began, slightly hesitant of his approach.

"I didn't say it was damn issue! I said we couldn't hire anyone else! Do you know what I've done to keep this place goin?" Cerulean hues turned on the male that stood before him, their irises set ablaze; his teeth grit together in frustration. "My father was too much of a fuck-up to keep it afloat, I took it from him and made it what it is!" A fist slammed down on the desk, fingers curled in on themselves; causing his knuckles to turn white. "How the hell can I bring some random asshole in here? Let alone trust him!?" His eyes scanned the mess before him, as if searching for the answer to his question within the fine print of paperwork that had gone un-filed. He was becoming more and more irate with each passing day, anger level seeming to rise along with the stacks of paper that needed tending.

The other attempted to speak once more, his palms turning up as if in reconciliation and eyes almost begging the other to at least attempt to work with him. "Grimmjow-sama...Not everyone is going to disappoint you..." The words trailed off, he was walking on dangerously thin ice as it was touching this subject. The male seated before him was one of intense pride, any sense of pity shown his way would not be taken kindly to, and that was an understatement. Not to mention he didn't need to add a list of the people who had let him down.

"Hah! Whatta fuckin' laugh!" Lips pulled back over white ivories, revealing a sarcastic smirk, his head tilting back toward the ceiling. "Get the hell outta my office."

"As you wish, sir." The male bowed his head slightly, hands at his sides as he turned to leave the small room.

As the door shut behind him Grimmjow huffed out a sigh as he leaned his elbows on the desk, face in his hands. They needed more help, he knew that much; how could he not? You couldn't very well run a successful bar with only two employees. Originally he had started out with five besides himself, but they had all proved to be worthless. And the bluenette wasn't about to keep assholes around who didn't pull their own weight. _Pantera_ was an establishment first founded by his father, not his actual one biologically but who was really keeping tabs? Truth was, after spending close to 18 years as a kid in the system, jumping from foster home to foster home; when you spent more than two years with someone they might as well have been like a parent. Too bad the one he ended up with was about as good of a father figure as a damn rock. None of that mattered now though; the guy was long dead and gone. Now all he was concerned with was having time to get all of his paperwork done. Taxes, filing all that shit got thrown to the wind when customers were coming in; needing to be served and all that jazz. Shawlong was a loyal guy, sure. But he wasn't really a people person; never seemed to hit it off with anyone he talked to. Then again neither was Grimmjow, but at least he could keep track of the orders.

Over the past few weeks necessities had begun to get neglected, the everyday mopping of the floor was turning to every other day. Papers and forms stacked up on his desk and the back stock of alcohol was dwindling without a new order being placed. His business that he had worked so hard to maintain was falling apart right before his eyes and there was no way he could let that happen. Sundays were now used to come in and work on the shit that hadn't gotten done over the week, often times leading to him not coming home till around midnight and thus starting off a Monday sleep deprived. It was a vicious cycle, one in which Grimmjow wasn't sure he knew the way out of.

"Fucking shit." Rising up from his desk, palms flat on its surface Grimmjow once again ran a hand through his hair as he opened the door of his office to walk out. It was true, he didn't trust people for anything. Never had a reason to considering anyone he'd put minimal reliance in ended up fucking him over. Shawlong was the only was he knew would stick by his side, but he was different. The guy had issues or something as he was more loyal than a lost dog to it's rescuer. Never complained, never talked back. Just 'yes sir' this and 'Grimmjow-sama' that. At first it had been really annoying, but when he spent most of his time dealing with a bunch of idiots who didn't listen to a damn word he said; it was relieving to have someone not give him a hard time. Even when granted the bluenette did deserve it more often than not.  
His hands were metaphorically bound in this situation. If he didn't look for a hire somewhere, the business would undoubtedly fall. And there was no way he'd let that happen. If the guy worked out maybe he'd only have to keep him for a couple months. Grimmjow would catch up on all the shit he was behind on and then he wouldn't be needed anyone. That's all that had to be done. Just a fresh start with no back work waiting for him.

"Shawlong!" The booming voice called out in search of his employee. Before long the tall ravenette appeared from the back inventory room, his expression calm as was per usual for him. "Yes, Grimmjow-sama?"

"Ah.." Holding the bridge of his nose with two fingers, cyan eyes averted themselves as he scowled. "Put up the fuckin' hiring sign."

"As you wish, sir." With a slight bow the male turned and left, not even giving so much as a smirk to say 'I told you so'.

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki huffed a heavy sigh, footsteps falling to a slow metronome as they thudded away on the sidewalk; walking home was both a blessing and a nuisance. School was nothing he couldn't handle, though the amount of homework and studying he had to do took up a majority of his time. The 19 year old orangette was in the middle of his first year of college, the journey to getting a medical degree just starting out. He had wanted to be a doctor ever since he could remember, the family clinic was almost the sole influencer of that; though recently he had realized he didn't know what kind of doctor he wanted to be. It was something so simple though somehow managed to slip his mind. The teen shook his head slightly, ridding his mind, hopefully, of all things school-related. He just wanted to go home, flop face first onto his bed and fall asleep; even though he knew as soon as he walked through the door he'd be berated by his father, most likely with a kick to somewhere on his body, and his sister Yuzu telling him to eat dinner. Idly the thought crossed his mind of what it would be like to have a family that wasn't so overly invested in his daily affairs. A small chuckle left his lips at the idea; no, no matter how loud and quirky his family was; they were _his_. And he wouldn't trade them for the world.

Before long he turned up the short walk to his house, opening the door with that almost nonexistent smirk still in place. Stepping inside he noticed no one was in his direct line of sight. "Hey? Karin? Yuzu? Da-OOF!" Just as he was about to finish his sentence, a flying kick landed right on the side of his head, his body flew to the side due to the impact.

"ICHIGOO! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LETTING YOUR GUARD DOWN HUH?! HOW DO YOU PLAN TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD WHEN YOU'RE WALKING AROUND NOT PAYING ATTENTION! HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING?!" Isshin wailed, shaking his fist in the air as he flung the words at an almost unconscious Ichigo on the floor. "OH MASAKI WHERE DID I GO WRONG?! OUR ONLY SON IS A COMPLETE FAILURE!"

"I'm not a failure! You're parenting methods just suck!" The male was back on his feet, his own fist clenched as he grit his teeth toward his father.

"Dad! Did you hurt Ichigo again!?" Yuzu had just wandered around the corner from the kitchen, her bottom lip puffing out into a pout as her large eyes stared up at Isshin.

"B-But Yuzu! Daddy had to teach your no-good-free-loading brother a lesson!"

"HEY WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' NO GOOD AND FREE LOADING?!" A tick of anger appeared on Ichigo's forehead.

"Do you people mind?" Karin's voice could be heard just a short distance away from the living room where she sat, legs up on the coffee table, watching a pro soccer game. She peered over the back edge of the couch at the others, looking less than amused.

"I'm going to my room." The orangette huffed, walking past all of them to the stairs.

"Ichigo wait! You haven't eaten dinner yet!" The girl whined, still holding a mixing spoon in her hand. Chocolate hues darted from the stairs to where she stood, sighing once again as his grip on the banister tightened, then released; a hand reaching up to comb through orange locks.

"Sorry, Yuzu." He feigned a smile in his sisters direction, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked over to the table. She had already made him a plate, must've been why she was holding the spoon. "It looks great."

After shoveling the curry and rice into his mouth at an alarming rate Ichigo then was finally able to walk up the stairs into his room, grumbling to himself about the cons of eating that quickly. He hadn't realized until he had taken the first bite that he was starving. School really did take up most of his days, and today studying for his Anatomy exam had apparently been more important than lunch. The teen flopped onto his bed, chocolate hues stared up at the ceiling. This semester so far had been insane, and midterms were coming up in a couple weeks that he couldn't afford to bomb. He sighed just as a knock sounded on his door, sitting up suspiciously, his eyes narrowed in its general direction. "Yeah?" His voice was slightly hesitant, the only person to ever knock was Yuzu and he couldn't think of what she'd want now.

A crack in the frame showed as the door was pushed open slowly, Isshin poking his head in before fully entering the room causing Ichigo to flinch instinctively. "Ichigo! It's time to have a father to son chat!" The male had his hands on his hips, face tilted upwards as if in a heroic pose.

"Uh...What the hell are you talkin about old man?" The orangette's face was one of disinterest as he spoke to his father.

"Old man!? Have you no respect for your father!? The one who raised you!? OH Ichigo why can't you be a model son!" He held a hand to his forehead dramatically, eliciting yet another sigh from said son.

"Alright..._dad_. What is it?" Ichigo's tone was exasperated as he ran a hand over his eyes and through his hair.

"It's time you got a job, son!" With a wide grin on his face Isshin pointed a finger towards the other who seemed completely shocked.

"Are you serious?! I can hardly handle all this school how the hell am I gonna hold down a job!?" Brows raised incredulously as he shouted. The guy couldn't be serious. A job?! No way! Sure he was 19...And yeah he didn't pay for anything himself... But he was a college student! They could never afford anything!

"A doctor-to-be has to have responsibility! The only responsibility you've ever had was a goldfish when you were five!"

"I...I had a goldfish?" Ichigo didn't remember ever having a pet..

"You wouldn't remember because you let it die after three days! Poor little guy didn't stand a chance with _you_ as its caretaker!" The older male laughed heartily, tossing his head back as he did so.

"But that doesn-"

"Ichigo! Listen. I know I'm not the most serious guy all the time." Isshin rubbed the back of his neck as he walked over to sit on the edge of Ichigo's bed. "But listen this will be good for you! Teach you how to balance things in your life. Your sisters aren't going to have the same college savings I managed for you, it's gonna be harder with them and if you could help out with your own personal expenses..." He looked up into amber hues, his hand reaching out to grasp onto his son's shoulders. "Well, it'd really mean a lot to me, Ichigo."

He didn't know how to react. His dad never acted like this...Sincere. He seemed genuinely concerned with how he was going to save enough to get Karin and Yuzu through college.. Pursing his lips Ichigo looked away, unsure of how to handle this scenario with his father and if he were being completely honest, it was a little awkward. Turning to face him once more his voice too had taken on a serious pitch.

"Ah..Yeah, Dad. I understand, I'll go look for a job starting tomorrow." He tried to finish off the sentence with a half-hearted smile.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Isshin's entire expression shifted, once again it was back to the usual rowdy and joking exterior. "Ah hah! Great to hear Ichigo! Well I'll get outta your hair, see ya!" Waving his hand over his shoulder he laughed, shutting the door too loudly behind him.

The teen sat there dumbstruck for a few minutes. Unsure of whether or not the entire display had been a joke or not. Honestly he wouldn't put it past his father to completely bullshit him like that to get what he wanted, the guy was all about the dramatics. Leaning back on his bed once more the teen heaved a sigh. He had no idea how he'd manage a job and school... Hell just managing school was stressful enough! And now he'd have another schedule to worry about? What if it conflicted with his classes!

The cell phone in his pocket buzzed loudly against his dark denim jeans, a whistling sound reverberated from it twice indicating he had a text. Pulling the device from its confines he swiftly swiped across the screen to see who it was from: Rukia.

_-You at home?_

He smirked a little at the print on the screen. He hadn't seen his best friend in a while, too long if he were being honest. She was always off doing something; going here or there. It helped when you came from one of the richest families in Japan and had graduated college 3 years early with outstanding marks. Ichigo chuckled to himself softly at the thought, hanging out with her you'd never imagine she could be such a _noble_.

_-Yeah, in my room. You comin over?_

Fingers worked nimbly over the screen's keys, sending the message after a few moments. With anyone else he would have waited a bit before answering, but Rukia never seemed to have much patience with this kinda stuff. A few moments passed before he heard a few small raps at his window, he leaned up to unlock it just as the pane was slid back and the ravenette's small form glided in. Ichigo didn't even bother to ask how she managed to get up into his second story window anymore, having almost had a heart attack when she had first pulled the stunt. He smiled to himself, she really didn't waste any time and chances were she had been standing outside when she had initially texted him.

Chocolate hues looked over at violet, she looked upset or at least as upset as she'd show. "Spill it." His voice was calm as he laid back down on his bed, arms crossed behind his head as he kept eye contact.

"I think I'm going to break it off with Renji..." She looked away as she spoke, settling in at the foot of his bed with her knees pulled up against her chest, small arms wrapping around them.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to forgive him anyways." The orangette yawned, turning on his side to better talk to her.

"It's not like I didn't want to... But I just can't help but think about it whenever he goes anywhere. Or whenever I don't get a call back right away." Her voice took on a low octave, chin resting on her knees.

"I think you tried to make it work with him. It's his fault for being a fuck up and cheating on you in the first place, Ru. I know I wouldn't have been able to get over that."

"I suppose I had it in my mind that it was my fault... That I wasn't being a good girlfriend.." She chuckled slightly, looking up at him. "But that was just me being an idiot, right?"

"You're damn right it was. Personally I don't even know how you manage to be on such good terms with Byakuya right now." He muttered, more than slightly annoyed.

"I...He's my brother, Ichigo." Violet eyes shifted down, her tone obviously hurt by the memories that flooded forth.

"Yeah. Your brother who hooked up with your boyfriend." He yawned again.

"You're tired... I shouldn't have come over so late." Rukia made a motion as if she were going to leave, the expression on her face still pained.

"Oi, knock it off! I haven't seen ya in forever so shut up! You know I don't mind." Ichigo propped himself up on his elbows, eyes taking in his friend's features. She looked as if she were about to cry. "C'mere, kay? Why dont you just stay over. My dad won't even notice." His voice dropped.

"Baka..If you're talking like that because you think I'm gonna cry then I'm sorry to disappoint you." She looked away.

"Rukia. Just let it go. You don't have to be the rich proper chick all the time." He sighed, trying not to let the irritation her family gave him seep into his words. Rukia was never allowed to show what they considered to be weakness. And it had taken her years before she had ever shown sadness in front of Ichigo, it bothered him that she would still try to hold back.

The petite girl nodded slightly, without saying a word. She clambered over the blankets next to Ichigo and laid her head on his chest, her small body pressed against his. When the orangette's arm went around her and he pulled the blankets up she sighed in contentment; he said nothing about the wetness he felt begin to soak his shirt where her eyes were.

* * *

Two days later and Grimmjow was starting to really regret putting the sign in their window. He had received five resumes and applications that he had yet to go through, but figured they'd all end up in a 'fuck no' anyways. He had put them off entirely yesterday, choosing instead to put in the order for the liquor they needed and take note of the remaining. There was no excuse, it was early still but soon customers would begin to flood in and he wouldn't have time to do all this bullshit anyways, considering no paperwork ever got done during night hours. Grimmjow sighed, it was so overwhelming tending to a shit ton of customers with just two people. A realization that made him begrudgingly aware of how necessary it was for him to hire someone else on. Sitting at his mahogany desk he picked up the first packet, sapphire eyes drooped to a half-lidded uninterested state, the handwriting was neatly scrawled and a little feminine-looking. The male cocked an eyebrow at the name 'Yumichika.' The fuck kinda name was that anyways? The bluenette scowled, flipping through the page and skimming along the list of reasons why this guy thought he'd fit the bill.

-Cleanly.

-More than easy on the eyes.

-Intelligent.

-Good looking.

A blue brow lifted up in surprise. Was that really what the guy wrote? Four fucking things that didn't mean shit when it came to working in a bar? He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. This was already exhausting and he had barely just begun. Turning the page over he saw a series of paragraphs scripted beneath the questions that had only intended to receive and answer of about two sentences. "God dammit." The male really didn't have the patience to be doing this kind of tedious work. In all reality he didn't have the patience for paper work in general, but the necessities were something he didn't allow himself to put off. Idly he thought to himself if he could hire someone to do his hiring for him, but chuckled at the thought considering the reason he was in this situation was due to his picky attitude over employees. With a trademark scowl plastered on his face, Grimmjow pushed away from his desk, leather office chair gliding back easily as he rose from it and padded across the small space to the door. Allowing himself one glance back at the stack of resumes before walking out of his office.

Shawlong was wiping down the bar, his eyes darting up to register Grimmjow's approach. "You've finished reviewing the applications, sir?" The question was posed slightly shocked, rightfully so considering he'd only been staring at them for around ten minutes before essentially saying 'fuck it' and leaving. The bluenette chuckled as he ran a hand through electric locks. "Ah, no. I don't got the time, or the willpower to sit in that stuffy fuckin' room and read that shit." He shook his head slightly, continuing to walk past Shawlong and towards the door; he turned to face him before exiting. "How bout this. You read 'em, and tell me if there's any in the bunch that you'd think I'd like to take a look at, sound solid?" Brows rose to accompany his questioning tone.

"Of course, sir." Always so damn formal with him.

"Good, because let me tell ya I need a fuckin' cigarette more than you need a haircut." A sideways smirk pulled up his lips as he turned and walked out of the building. It was a Tuesday morning at around 8:50am and he hadn't had a smoke since well before dinner the previous night. That should'a been a crime as far as he was concerned. Leaning up against the outer brick wall of his establishment, Grimmjow mockingly flipped off the 'No Loitering" sign plastered on it as his back pressed against the cool surface. The time it took him to pull his lighter and pack of Camel Menthols from his pocket should have been recorded, fingers worked deftly at the denim of his jeans to remove them and soon he had one of the sticks captured between full lips as his thumb struck the gear that sparked the flame. Inhale. Exhale. Much fucking better. The smoke swirled out of his mouth in thick billowing tendrils, streaking up into the air and dissipating without a trace. If the nicotine itself didn't help t calm his nerves, watching smoke certainly did. On days when he only had a few minutes to spare he obviously didn't waste time on it. Today however Grimmjow decided to take an exception for himself and watch the cloud leave his lips for as long as he pleased. Hell, they were already so behind on work, what would an hour bullshitting around outside do? He needed the stress relief anyways if he was expected to get any form of work done.

* * *

The sunlight filtered in through the orangette's bedroom window, assaulting his eyes with it's piercing brightness. Turning on his side Ichigo attempted to drown out the annoying buzz of his alarm clock with the pillow he had pulled over his ears. It was too early why did school have to start so fucking early? His hand swatted out disoriented to knock the large 'snooze' button on the top of the device, ceasing the ear splitting drill of a sound that emitted from it. Sitting up groggily in bed the teen rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand haphazardly before swinging his legs over the side, noticing that Rukia was gone; though he wasn't surprised. Whenever she spent the night for reasons like that chances were she wouldn't be there the next morning. He didn't take offense to it. As far as he saw it, he'd been able to comfort her when she needed it so anything beyond that was up to her. Ever since Rukia had first come barging into his life a few years back they had been inseparable, it was just like they clicked or something. Even if he tried Ichigo would not be able to count how many times people had assumed they were together; that was the funny thing though. Neither of them felt any sort of romantic attachment for the other; which is probably the main reason their friendship worked the way it did. He couldn't for the life of him think of what other pair of friends could literally spoon all night and have it be completely platonic. A sad smile hinted on his lips, it really was a shame that they didn't get to see each other as often as when they had been back in high school. Or the time where Rukia had decided to run away from her family and live in Ichigo's closet. He chuckled at the memory.

Walking from his bed to said closet, Ichigo threw open the door and stared blank-faced at his clothes; not knowing what the hell to wear. Glancing over at his clock he saw that it was 8:10am so he had about twenty minutes before he'd have to leave in order to reach school by 9:00 am. Reaching into one of his drawers he pulled out a pair of dark grey denim skinny jeans then a white button-up shirt. Tucking the end in he added a black leather belt, then pushed the sleeves up to his elbows. Turning to his mirror Ichigo gave himself a once-over before settling that he looked decent, quickly slipped on his black converse and headed down the stairs.

He could smell whatever food Yuzu had cooked for breakfast wafting through the air of his kitchen and was bombarded before he even fully made it down the stairs. "Ichigo!" Yuzu called from behind the counter. "You better not try to skip breakfast again! That's not healthy you know." She chided and he could almost hear the small pout in her lip as she said it. Running a hand through his orange locks which were in complete disarray, he rounded the corner with a sheepish grin on his face. "Yeah I know, Yuzu. I'm not skippin' so just settle down." He grinned at the smile that put on his sisters face, grabbing the piece of toast she had waiting for him and walking towards the door.

"You don't want any eggs?" She called as he turned his back to her.

"Nah, don't got time Yuzu, sorry!" Grabbing his backpack by the door he slipped outside and began the daily trudge. His Anatomy exam was today, luckily he'd been studying for the past week and was pretty sure he had everything down that he needed to. Even still he couldn't suppress the nervousness that seemed to rise in his stomach from the thought. The orangette crossed his hands above his head as amber eyes looked up at the brightening sky above him, it was pretty clear out today save for a few sparse clouds. His eyes roamed back to the cement where his feet continued at his usual pace. For some reason, something in his peripheral vision caught his attention, chocolate hues darting to the side of a brick building. A man stood across the street, leaning up against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth, shocking blue hair stood in stark contrast to the russett background of the bricks. Without noticing Ichigo stopped walking, his eyes unflinching as they took in the other's form. The sensation Ichigo felt flooding through his body was one he couldn't place, but everything seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. The man wasn't looking in his direction, his face was tiltled to the side revealing a perfectly sculpted jaw bone and neckline. He watched as his lips curled around the cig in his mouth, letting the smoke billow out. Amber eyes glided down over the black button-up that he was wearing; it too was pushed up to his elbows. Suddenly, electric sapphire irises met his own, he gasped slightly, averted his gaze as a small blush spread across his cheeks and continued walking; not bothering to look back. At some point after having taken a few more steps, Ichigo realized his mouth had fallen open slightly, he quickly shut it.

_What the fuck was that!? Why did I just stop and stare at him like that it's not like I'm gay!_ Ichigo thought to himself over and over on his way to school, orange brows pulled together in slight frustration. Walking through the doors of his school Ichigo began to make his way down the hall, attempting to push that guy out of his thoughts. Almost immediately he heard a small patter of footsteps approaching behind him and knew who it would be without even bothering to turn around. He rose his hand up in a half wave as the footsteps got close enough and spoke with what he hoped sounded like genuine happiness. "Mornin' Inoue."

"Oh! Ah- Kurosaki-kun. Good morning!" She chirped, falling into step beside him. It wasn't uncommon for the girl to walk with him to class considering they were in it together. Inoue Orihime had had a huge crush on him for as long as he could remember; though he never felt anything in return he really did consider her one of his good friends. "Are you ready for the test?" She asked, holding up one of her fists and furrowing her brow in a mock victory stance; he chuckled. She was so expressionate. "Uh, yeah I guess. I mean as ready as I can possibly be I suppose...Been studying all week." He mused. tilting his head up to observe the ceiling tiles as they walked.

"You'll do great! Don't worry!" The smile that flooded her features was so pure and genuine he couldn't help but return it, she really was a great person to have around when your mood tanked. Or...is that what had happened to his mood? He scowled again, footsteps thudding on the floor. Why had he stopped like that? Why the fuck did he literally just freeze frame and _gawk_ at the guy? Ichigo had gay friends, one of them being his buddy Shuuhei, and they hung out a lot considering they had calculus together. If he was gay he woulda felt somethin' for him right? I mean, the guy was attractive enough.

_What the hell am I even thinking? Just because I know a guy who's gay doesn't mean I'd...have a _crush_ on him if I was! And I'm not gay!_ He scowled, brows knitting closer together. He tried to get the image of that guy with the blue hair out of his mind, to be honest he had to. His grade was partially riding on this exam and he couldn't spend it all fuckin' confused about some asshole that he didn't even know and would likely never see again.

"Ah...Kuro-" She trailed off. "You're ahm, you passed class." Her voice sounded hesitant, as she always was when she was unsure of something. Ichigo snapped out of his internal ramble, turning to face her with a questioning look only to see that she was right, he had walked two classrooms too far. "Huh. My bad."

"Are you..ok?" Orihime ventured, voice sounding suddenly small. He knew by the look on her face that she was genuinely concerned for him.

"Yeah yeah, just sidetracked I guess." That sounded lame. "Ah, my dad told me last night I gotta start looking for a job so, I've been kinda caught up in thinking where I should apply, y'know?" Amber hues looked into her steely grey, a slight blush spread across her cheeks at the eye contact.

"Oh...uhm. Right! That makes sense." Her tone took on a determined approach, immediately she dropped her gaze. Ichigo chuckled slightly and held the door open for her as they entered.

* * *

"Grimmjow-sama?" Shawlong leaned out the doorway to see the bluenette still standing outside, now on his third consecutive cigarette. As far as he was concerned, might as well get in his fix now since chances were he wouldn't have another break for the rest of the day. Looking up, sapphire eyes met with the man's, his expression slightly annoyed; as if he had been interrupted.

"Yeah?" His tone was curt as usual.

"I finished going through the applications, sir." He waited for a response.

"And?" Grimmjow really didn't have time for this shit, either he had something to say or he didn't. Just spit it ot.

"I'm sorry, none of them would be to your liking.." Well no wonder he had been hesitant about saying anything. Not that it was surprising though, like he had already guessed earlier; he wouldn't find anyone right off the bat to fill the spot.

"God fucking dammit!" He spat, throwing his almost spent cig on the floor and grinding it into the pavement. "There was five of 'em right?" Shawlong nodded quickly.

"Shit...Alright, guess we just keep the damn sign up. Chances are we'll get more pretty quick." He ran a hand through his hair, debating on how to further address the situation. "Y'know what, Shaw? Here's the deal. From now one when we get applications you just keep looking through em like you did today and if anyone catches yer eye, interview em got it? I don't want to see anyone's fuckin' face unless they got by you twice." He shook his head, waving his hand dismissively in the air as he walked inside. It sounded like a good plan considering he would likely shoot down every person to walk through the door, and at least if Shawlong liked 'em he'd be more inclined to give them a chance.

The bluenette walked back into his office, sitting down with a thud as he propped his elbows up on the desk, his eyes were looking down at the wood but his thoughts were miles away.

_Who the hell was that guy? I mean for fuck's sake y'don't just stop on the damn sidewalk and stare at someone..._ He brows furrowed, causing his expression to shift into its usual scowl._ That hair, it was so bright. I bet he's gotten a lotta shit for it.._ His mind ventured back to the ridicule he'd received his entire life for the color of his hair_. Yeah, I'll bet he's gotten it pretty damn good considering that shit was almost like lookin' into the damn sun._ He chuckled. Pushing the thought from his mind Grimmjow returned to the paperwork on his desk, now since the resumes were gone it wasn't actually that much to do. He had to file the receipts from the previous night, granted this all should've been done said night, but after that the only thing left was to add in Shawlong's pay roll. He sighed, leaning back in his chair with a stack of receipts in hand as he sifted through them. Unfortunately this would take a good few hours to properly sort them by date, time, amount and get them in order. He sighed, maybe instead of hiring someone to work in the bar he could just hire someone to do all his paper work for him. Letting his thoughts drift slightly as his eyes scanned the serial numbers of each receipt the phone at his desk rang, its shrill cry cutting through his thoughts and causing him to flinch slightly; he picked it up in the middle of the second ring.

"Hello?" Grimmjow grit out, attempting to sound friendly. It was something he constantly struggled with, but apparently running a business you couldn't answer the phone with a brash 'yeah?" or even better a 'the fuck is it?'. He'd learned more often than he'd like to admit that those were not things that went over well with the general public.

"Don't sound so fuckin' enthused, Kitty." The voice mocked from the other end, grin almost audible in his words. Grimmjow scowled, his top lip curling back slightly to give of a look of disgust. He fuckin' hated that bullshit nickname. In fact, the guy it came from surprisingly was on his good side, save for when shit like that came out of his mouth.

"The hell do you want, Nnoi?" He ran his hand up over his face. "I'm fuckin' busy."

"Tch, I don't hear from your ass in months and that's how ya fuckin' act?" Grimmjow knew the guy was smirking as he spoke, Nnoitra was always such a fucking smartass.

"S'cuse me asshole. How the hell are ya? Better?" He grinned.

"Much." He paused, chuckling slightly. "Ah, actually I needa favor, Grimm." The male on the other end trailed off, obviously annoyed that he was even saying thia.

"Huh, I'm impressed. How long have ya put off callin'?" Nnoitra was so far from the kind to outright ask for shit, the fact that he was doing it now meant it was something huge or he had already been putting it off for quite sometime.

"Ya know that gets fuckin annoyin right?" He spat.

"I know you, Nnoi. You wanna do the math of how long that is exactly?"

"Fuck you. Anyways. Can I crash at yer place fer a bit?" The voice rushed out in a brash tone, Grimmjow could almost see the ravenette hunched over in a chair that looked too small for him with his face in his hand.

"Tch. Whatever." To be honest he didn't really care, Nnoi and him had been what you could call 'friends' for over ten years, they'd been through a lotta shit together so givin' him a couch wasn't gonna kill him. "When can I expect ya?"

"Already here, asshole." There was that grinning tone again. "Or didn'tcha check what number was callin'?"

Brows furrowed as he looked down at the receiver, sure enough there was his house phone number printed on the screen. "What the- My door was locked bastard how the fuck?!" His voice rose to an irritated level, if he got home and his front door was kicked in there would be hell to pay.

"Calm the fuck down, it's surprisin' ta hear that I broke into a locked house?" Nnoitra laughed outright, the sound was a bit on the manic side. Grimmjow thought for a moment, realizing that no it wasn't surprising at all, houses weren't the only things Nnoitra used to break into when they were younger. Sighing audibly his scowl lessened a bit.

"I'm gonna be here all day, so don't fuck up anything while I'm gone, got it?" He snapped.

"Sure sure, kitty. I won't touch yer yarn n' shit."

The bluenette growled and hung up the phone, slamming it down on the base with a little more force than was necessary. Shaking his head clear of the conversation he turned his attention back to the receipts on his desk. This shit just never fucking ended did it?

* * *

Ichigo lifted both of his arms in the air, stretching back and subsequently hearing his back pop in multiple places. Relaxing back into a slouched position he turned to face his friend Ishida who was sitting behind him.

"How'dya do Uryuu?" His tone was light enough, though it was obvious the test had taken a lot out of him. And he still had to go job searching after school that day.

"Not saying for certain, but I'm pretty confident that I aced it." The male re positioned his glasses that had slipped to the mid section of the bridge of his nose, a small smirk playing at his lips as he looked up at Ichigo. "And you?"

The orangette rubbed the back of his neck, amber eyes darting up to the ceiling. "I think I did well enough, my mind kinda blanked on me for a second there to be honest." He grinned sheepishly.

Ishida raised an eyebrow, his face taking on a questioning look. "Blanked on you? You've been studying relentlessly for this exam, Ichigo. What do you mean your mind _blanked_ on you?" Although the tone had been curious enough, Ichigo couldn't help but feel someone had seen him eyeing the man at the wall. Instantly his cheeks threatened to flare up in an embarrassing blush just at the thought. The same thought that was quickly done away with and replaced by irritation. What the fuck, he was paranoid now?! Just because he stopped and saw some random guy didn't mean anything! And it wasn't the reason he mind had momentarily ditched him either!

"Ah, yeah. I don't know really. Just have a lot on my mind I guess." He looked down as if in thought. "I gotta go job huntin' today so it coulda been that. I have no idea where to apply." He pursed his lips, still looking down at the floor. A chair was pulled up next to them as Orihime sat down, her usual bubbly persona lightening the air around them almost immediately. Ichigo glaced up at Ishida who's eyes widened infinitesimally, irises splaying over the girl's face as an extremely faint blush crossed his cheeks before disappearing as quickly as it had come. It was obvious, to him at least, that Ishida liked Inoue. She however was too wrapped up to notice it seemed.

"Did you do well on your test, Kurosaki-kun?" She beamed, sitting backwards on the chair with her head resting on her knuckles, large silver eyes peered up at him.

"Yeah, I was just talking to Uryuu about it." He tried to smile again. Orihime, just seeming to notice the other's presence, straightened up momentarily to acknowledge him.

"Oh! Hi Ishida-san!" She smiled, biting her bottom lip out of habit and looking down after having made brief eye contact. Ichigo knew the 'san' wasn't Ishida's favorite endearment to have tacked on, and being heard directly after she referred to him as 'kun' had to have caused more than a sting; granted Inoue didn't know him very well. The guy wasn't much of a talker if you didn't pry a little at first.

"Hello, Inoue. How did your test go?" His lips curved up into a small smile, which was unusual for him in the first place. Just another indicator, as far as Ichigo was concerned, of Ishida's feelings for her.

"Ah, I did my best!" She beamed.

"That's good to hear." Another smile.

"Yeah, Inoue. You studied pretty hard, right?" Ichigo questioned, half interested in the conversation.

"Well. I was studying..." She trailed off, cheeks puffing out as she spoke. "But then I got hungry so I went to the store to get leeks, bread and jelly-"

Both Ishida's and Ichigo's face twisted up at her mention of those three food items together.

"Geez! What the hell were you gonna make with all that!?" Orange brows raised in comical alarm as he back away from her in his seat. Orihime glanced up from where she had been staring as seemed confused by their reactions.

"I was going to make jelly toast with steamed leeks.." Her tone was innocent as she spoke.

"Someone needs to get you a cookbook for Christmas or something..." Ichigo trailed off, running his hands through his hair as he looked away from her. The idea of leeks being anywhere near jelly toast still had him skeeved out.

"Kurosaki, Ishida, Inoue?" The professor looked up at them from behind her desk. "Is there a reason you're all still here?" Her eyebrow arched questioningly. The orangette looked around, noticing for the first time that everyone else had left the room. Damn it he must really be a space case today; either that or Inoue was rubbing off on him. He shuddered, pushing away from the desk and standing up, stretching once more.

"Ah, sorry Professor!" Orihime jumped up, looking shocked that she too hadn't noticed everyone leave and quickly scrambled to pick up her binder before turning to face Ichigo. Ishida stood up slowly, holding his binder in one hand as he waved the other nonchalantly. "I figured you two noticed the lack of populous in the room and were just choosing to stay despite that." He turned t leave, glancing over his shoulder seemingly debating on something.

"Yeah...uh, that was my bad I guess." Ichigo noted, walking forward to the door with Orihime in toe and Ishida hanging back, most likely so he wouldn't look like he was following them.

After he parted with his friends Ichigo sighed in relief, at least the only class he had today was Anatomy and that the exam was finally over. Now maybe he'd be able to relax. The teen stopped in his tracks momentarily, remembering his need to go look for a job. Walking down the street he began to glance at the stores he passed. Honestly some preppy retail gig didn't interest him in the slightest. And he wasn't too keen on paperwork crap so an office job was a no go.. He kicked a rock that lay in his path on the sidewalk, watching it skip across the concrete and slide away from him; only to catch up and kick it again. He looked up, noticing the building that the blue-haired guy had been standing next to. _It was a bar?_ He raised an eyebrow. The name was interesting enough: Pantera. Sounded pretty cool. His eyes slid down from the top of it to the window, where a 'Help Wanted' sign hung there. Considering he was nineteen he'd legally be allowed to work there. Maybe there was a reason he saw that guy after all, if he hadn't there most likely wouldn't have been a reason for him to look over this way. Not that the guy gave him a reason in the first place... He shook his head once more, eyes darting quickly to either side of the street before crossing quickly. Taking a moment to assess the building before pulling open the door and stepped inside.

The atmosphere was nice enough, clean in the least. It was dimly lit and the color scheme seemed to be a mixture of dark grey, black and a deep blue. It was different, but pretty nice. He looked down, the floor resembled black marble, it glistened and shone as if it had just been cleaned. There was no one else in there as far as he could see and he wondered who he'd need to ask for an application. Sticking his hands in his pockets Ichigo made his way up to the bar, looking over it just as a tall man with a long braid rounded to corner.

"Something I can get you, sir?" He questioned.

"Ah, yeah. You guys are hiring?" Ichigo questioned.

"That we are! Did you want an application?"

"Yeah, actually... I'll just fill it out here if you don't mind?" His tone was light and conversational, hoping that wanting to get this thing over and done with as soon as possible didn't show through in his words. It was weird though, this place was really well kept but he only saw the one guy. Could he be running this place all by himself? Tch, no wonder they had the hiring sign up. Braid-guy came back out from a back room holding a small packet and a pen in his hand, handing it to Ichigo and instructing him on what parts he didn't need to fill out as they were saved for comments should he get an interview. Ichigo nodded and headed over to the nearest bar stool to complete it.

The questions were simple enough and soon Ichigo had filled out the front and back side of one paper, then the front side to another. His hand hurt considering he had just gotten out of a test that had him write over four pages in essay responses. As he walked back over to the bar to hand in his work, the orangette still wondered heavily how he was going to go about balancing a job and school. It seemed to be a concept he wouldn't know the answer to until he actually had a job. Hopefully he'd get this one and then wouldn't have to worry about lookin' around anymore. At least that would take one degree of stress off of his metaphorical shoulders.

"Hmm, it looks pretty good, kid." The tall guy commented, flipping idly through the papers after Ichigo handed it to him.

"Name's Ichigo." He commented off handedly.

"What's that?"

"My name, it ain't kid. It's Ichigo." Shit, maybe that had been a little too abrasive for someone who was trying to get hired. Fuck. The tall guy stared at him momentarily, seemingly perplexed by what he had just heard. Shit, now he did it. Well he could kiss this job opportunity goodbye. Now one was going to hire his ass now that he had gone and acted like a dick.

"You're it." He noted, gesturing his hands out in indication of what seemed to be Ichigo's entire body.

"Huh?" Was this guy on something? He had just stepped completely out of line, most likely, and now this guy was acting like he had just won a model shoot or something.. _'You've got what we want._' He almost chuckled at the thought.

"Listen, Ichigo I"m gonna level with ya. I'm not the boss around here." Well that caught him offguard. "I've gotten a good amount of applications so far and to be honest, they've all been kiss asses. Kids like that wouldn't last two minutes with this guy." He jacked his thumb back over his shoulder towards a door. Presumably an office? Ichigo wasn't sure. The only thing that was made apparent was that behind it was the 'boss'. "Now. You come in here and you got spunk. _That's_ what we need in an employee. Because if you don't got that, you'd be eaten alive." He shook his head slightly. The orangette was slightly stunned and didn't quite know what to say.

"So...I got the job?" It wasn't brilliant, but it was all he had at that point in time.

"Ya got the job. You start tomorrow, how's three o'clock sound? I can give you about two hours training before we open and then you're on your own." He gave Ichigo a look that basically implied he better be a quick learner, lucky for him he was. "And I'll say this now and only now. He's a handful. But don't quit, we need someone to help out around here or else we're done."

Ichigo didn't know what to say, this entire conversation seemed to happen incredibly fast and honestly it was a little weird. Swallowing he realizing his throat was dry, so he opted for a nod of the head before trying to speak. "Sounds good I'll uh...See ya tomorrow then." He waved over his shoulder and began to turn around, stopping before he did so completely. "Oh and, thanks.. I really need this job."

* * *

Grimmjow could hear Shawlong outside his office, his voice was muffled due to the thickness of his door and the fact that it had been intended to be a soundproof room. He could also vaguely make out the sound of a voice he didn't recognize, but figured it was just some dick comin in for an application. The bluenette scoffed in his seat, having just finished filing the receipts. He turned around in his chair to face the door just as he heard a knock sound from the other side.

"Yeah? Come in." He scowled, turning back to lean his head in his hand that was propped up on the desk's surface. Shawlong entered, almost smiling as he did so, almost. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well? The fuck is it?" Grimmjow's patience was wearing delicately thin as the days progressed it would seem.

"I found our new employee." He stated simply.

The seated male cocked an eyebrow, his lips pursing. "Really now? When do I interview him?" Not that he wanted to in the least.

"You don't, sir. I made an executive decision and hired him already." What once appeared as confidence quickly turned to hesitation when he realized essentially what he was saying. Shawlong had gone over Grimmjow's head without any authority to do so. Considering he was normally a model employee he hoped it wouldn't end badly, though with Grimmjow being basically a bomb with little to no fuse depending on the day, it was hard to tell.

"You..._what_?" The air around the bluenette seemed to literally palpitate with heat. Shawlong would be lucky if he didn't get his ass fired for pulling a stunt like this.

"Grimmjow-sama. You know I wouldn't make this decision lightly. I feel he's exactly what we need. Give him a week, and if you don't agree then fire him." The words, thankfully, left his mouth without a stutter despite the nervous feeling he had growing in his stomach.

The male sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and rolling them in small circles. "What's the guy's name?"

"Ichigo." He said simply.

Brows furrowed together, Ichigo? Like...like the fuckin' fruit? His thoughts raced for a reason he wasn't quite aware of. Almost as if his brain were putting two and two together before he had caught up. On whim and before he could really think of the question before he spoke, words spilled from his lips. "What color was his hair?"

Shawlong seemed shocked by the question, stammering slightly before answering. "Ah, it was a god-awful bright orange."

_So it was him..._

* * *

A/N: Ok guys I finished the first chapter yayyy~ I'm so proud of myself for writing this much tbh. It was a challenge to not let myself get too distracted but I'm glad I sat down and wrote it because this fic is so wonderful in my head . I'm also sorry for the lack of smut even though this is rated M . Don't worry though...It's coming. I mean -cough- What? No but seriously GrimmIchi is my all time Bleach OTP so rest assured once the time arrives you will not be disappointed. I hope you like it and leave me reviews so I know how I'm doing :3 THANKS SO MUCH TO ANYONE WHO READS THIS!


	2. Chapter 2

After arriving home Ichigo fell onto his bed, amber eyes staring up at the ceiling; it had been quite the exhausting day. He sighed, arms crossed behind his head, wondering how his training for work would go tomorrow. To be honest he didn't even know what his job description entailed. He had no idea about bar-tending, so hopefully they didn't ask him to do that. Not to mention he'd probably end up in a fight the second some dumb drunk bastard gave him shit for his hair. Ever since he could remember that was how his fights started. Normally he'd be minding his own business until some crack about the color was thrown at him, and what else was he supposed to do anyways? Just let the dumbasses walk away thinking they were tough shit? Not likely. The orangette chewed at the inside of his cheek, the comment from braid-guy about his boss was more than a little unsettling. Come to think of it he didn't know either of their names. This really had been an unorthodox job interview if you could even call it that. The dude had seemed practically relieved that Ichigo had the demeanor he did; which was odd considering that was the very thing usually getting him into trouble.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, the resonating whistle sound ringing twice. Without looking down Ichigo removed it from the confines of his jeans and held it up over his face so he could see who the text was from.

_-Went through with it._

A small smirk crept onto Ichigos face. Figuring Rukia meant she had gone through with breaking things off with Renji. He was glad she actually did it, though hoped she didn't take him back if he bugged her too much about it. She stayed with him after he cheated on her which Ichigo had thought was fucking stupid to begin with. Then again, Rukia never liked hurting people and he guessed that Renji's remorseful attitude had played on her compassion. He typed a quick response to her and set his phone down on his chest.

_-How'd he take it?_

They hadn't been together long, few months or so if he remembered correctly. The whole cheating thing had only come out a couple weeks ago. The wounds were still fresh for Rukia which is why he was so stunned that she and Byakuya were already speaking again. At first she hadn't been able to say anything. Who would though? The whole thing seemed so out of character for both of them though as far as he was concerned. Rukia had been with Ichigo initially, they had been hanging out after not having seen each other in a while; it was a good day. Later that night she just showed back up at his house crying her eyes out. Apparently she went home she heard suggestive sounds coming from her brother's room, obviously if that had been the end of it she would have chalked it up to a one-sided awkward moment. It wasn't until she heard Renji's voice cut through the other sounds that she froze dead in her place. She walked in on them. Who wouldn't have though? A part of her feeling that maybe she had been mistaken, maybe it wasn't Renji. That's when she saw them in bed together and the worst part was neither of them even saw that she was there. For what seemed like forever she couldn't do anything but stand there as tears began streaming down her face. It wasn't until she choked out a sob that their heads snapped up in her direction, but by that time she had already turned and ran out of the house; coming straight to Ichigo's before she even knew where her feet were taking her.

_-The worst part was he was so understanding about it. He didn't even try to stop me..._

He scowled at the small words printed on the screen before him. That bastard. He couldn't even act like it was a big deal to him? Ichigo had figured when it went down that it hadn't been their first time hooking up. Of course Rukia wouldn't want to hear that so he kept his mouth shut. But he'd known Renji for a while, they were friends even. So he knew the guy wouldn't just jump into bed on a first-time whim, let alone with another guy. It was all confusing as hell and the red-head was lucky Ichigo hadn't seen him since it went down.

_-You need to come over?_

Most likely she'd turn him down, but he still had to ask. Rukia wasn't the type to be comforted unless she was extremely upset, and her having come to Ichigo twice in the past few months had most likely made her feel as if she were taking advantage of him in some way. He shook his head slightly. That's how she was though, so independent. He really admired that about her, how she was always able to hold her head up regardless of the circumstances.

_-No, I just need to be alone right now. But thank you, Ichigo._

So formal. Just what he expected from her when she was upset. Re-reading the words he almost wanted to laugh. Rukia should have known he didn't fall for the noble bullshit, it was so easy to see through.

_-Got it, talk to ya later then._

He put the phone back in his pocket, knowing there would be no further response and sighed once more. He didn't even know what time it was. How long had it been since he'd eaten dinner? Rolling over onto his stomach, chocolate eyes peered up at the clock on his nightstand, it was 9:30pm. He needed to get to sleep considering he had school and work training the next day.

_ Well this'll be interesting..._

* * *

Much later than Grimmjow had planned, he arrived home; placing his key to the deadbolt when his lips curled up into a half scowl as he remembered why the door would be unlocked and who would be waiting for him inside. It was late, too late to be dealing with that fucking bastard as far as he was concerned. But then again, the bluenette was slightly curious as to what would make him suddenly pop back up on the map after all these years. Stepping through the threshold hesitantly he was surprised to see that it was completely dark, he figured Nnoitra would have at least one light on. Grimmjow's scowl deepened as he continued forward, setting his keys down on the kitchen counter. He never needed a light persay, never had any troubles getting around without one.

"Welcome home, Kitty." A low voice sounded from the left of Grimmjow, he spun towards its direction looking less than amused.

"Fuck you!" Came the spat of a reply. It was late, and honestly the bluenette didn't have time for Nnoitra's bullshit attitude. That stupid nickname that had hung over his head since he was a kid wasn't helping either.

Nnoitra lay sprawled out on Grimmjow's couch, one leg hanging off the edge and the other bent up on it while his hands were crossed behind his head. The image really was of someone who was way too comfortable for their own good and the standing male couldn't help but scowl slightly at the sight. Walking over and turning on a light, Grimmjow raked his fingers through powder blue locks; coming to sit on the edge of the couch with his elbows resting on his thighs.

"You gonna tell me why the hell you showed up outta the blue now?" His tone was tired and didn't hold the irritated tone like he had initially intended.

"Tch, like it fuckin' matters. M' here now ain't I?" His single violet eye averted itself from sapphire, just as Grimmjow had anticipated. Nnoitra wasn't one for talking about shit that was bothering him or had gone wrong, hell neither was Grimmjow. Thing was, when you had to be held up in someone else's house the least a guy could do was fill in his friend.

"Alright, Bastard. I don't got time fer this. I'm tired as fuck and I got a new employee comin' in tomorrow for trainin' so if you're not gonna talk then-"

"Neliel fuckin' left me." His tone was a low burst, as if he'd been holding in the sentence for quite some time. Grimmjow sighed, his shoulders slumping as he looked over at the ravenette.

"Che' bout time. I never got how she could'a hung around a dick like you anyways." He smirked.

"Fuck you, Grimmjow!" The use of his full name caught him off guard. Nnoitra wasn't one for formalities and the fact that he'd taken the time to say an entire word that was over five letters long without shortening it, well it was pretty uncommon. Grimmjow's eyebrows pulled down together, twisting his face up into one of his trademark scowls. He sat there for a moment, unsure of what to say or how to handle the situation, he really wasn't good at this comforting shit and he was sure that Nnoitra wasn't good at being comforted.

"S'really gotten to you, huh?" His tone lowered, softening slightly.

"Tch." He looked away, jaw clenched and nostrils flared, his face otherwise unreadable. "Nah, fuck that bitch."

Getting up from where he sat Grimmjow nodded his head, not willing to pry any further considering the other had gone so far as to tell him what happened. If Grimmjow was known for a having a short fuse then Nnoitra didn't have one at all, and he wasn't about to sit and ask the guy twenty questions about what went down. If he wanted to say anything then he knew he had full opportunity to do so, and if not then the bluenette didn't really give a shit.

"Couch is comfortable enough. Shouldn't hurt'cher back or anythin." It was simple, but basically said 'stay as long as you need' without the unnecessary pussy talk. Grimmjow wasn't one for throwing feelings left and right, so that was the best he had.

"Noted." He flipped over, back facing the majority of the room that Grimmjow had turned to leave.

Getting into his bedroom the male was unsure whether he even had the energy to change properly. All he wanted to do was to fall face-first onto his bed and pass the fuck out. He sighed, slipping out of his pants and unbuttoning his black shirt until he was left in a pair of navy blue boxers and a white tank top. Walking over to the far side of his room Grimmjow slid his window open, inhaling the cool scent that wafted in from outside. He padded back over to the bed, throwing the blankets back and climbing in, asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Ichigo woke up to a peaceful silence, turning over on his side the light from his blinds dove into the room, casting slits of white and yellow over his face. He squinted, making a small noise of discomfort before sitting up groggily, rubbing his hands over his eyes. A confused expression took over the orangette in that moment, why was it so quiet? Had he really woken up before his alarm had gone off? Amber hues glanced over at the clock on his nightstand, almost popping out of their socket when he looked at the time 11:47am. He cursed out loud, jumping out of bed and running down the stairs in nothing but his light blue plaid boxers and a grey tank top.

"Fuck! Why the hell didn't my alarm go off!?" Scrambling around the corner he saw nobody in the kitchen, it was empty save for a note on the counter neatly printed in Yuzu's writing.

_ ~Ichigo,_

_ I tried to wake you up but all you did was grunt at me and go back to sleep..._

_ I don't know if you turned off your alarm or it didn't work because of the blackout we had this morning for a half hour. _

_ Anyways, you deserve a break once in a while. There's food in the fridge, don't forget to eat!_

_ ~Yuzu._

"Dammit!" He growled, slamming the note back down on the counter. A blackout? It wasn't uncommon for that to happen but he had never dealt with it being an inconvenience before. Now he missed Chemistry and would be behind an entire day on the notes. He scowled, figuring he could probably just copy them down from Uryuu who would never think to miss a class in his life. At least he had one friend that was reliable enough for the both of them. Walking around the counter Ichigo pulled open the fridge and looked inside, his stomach growling as if to further back up his motion. He scanned the shelves looking for the food Yuzu had mentioned and saw a small brown paper bag with a sticky note attached to it with his name and a heart. He smiled, pulling the bag from the shelf and walking over to the table to sit. Yuzu was always so thoughtful, ever since their mom died she had wasted no time in picking up all the duties that weren't her responsibility; and she pulled it off perfectly. Even now the simple act of writing his name on the bag like he couldn't find food on his own, it was a sweet gesture and such a _mom_ thing to do. He chuckled, opening the paper and peering inside to find a fork and napkin sitting on top. Delving into its contents he found a bento box with sticky rice, eggs and ahi inside. Not your average breakfast food though he figured his sister wouldn't expect him up until around noon if he had nothing to wake him. Which was a very reasonable guess.

Soon after eating Ichigo looked back over to the clock, 12:23pm. Damn he still had almost three hours before he had to show up at his new job. Musing to himself that at least he'd have enough time to get ready instead of rushing there straight from school and looking like a wreck on his first day, Ichigo walked back up his stairs and turned into the bathroom to take a quick shower, though with the time he had he might as well make it a long one.

_Let's see how long I can drag all of this out so I don't end up bored outta my mind..._

* * *

A loud, blasting noise erupted from Grimmjow's alarm clock about two feet or so away from his face. The familiar Metalica song "Master of Puppets" sounded distorted due to the horrible sound quality of the clock, which was part of the reason it woke him up so quickly. The bluenette groaned, swiping his hand out to knock the entire device off the shelf, not succeeding in shutting up unfortunately. He scowled, looking up from the pillow with cyan hues barely squinting into the light; Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was _not_ a morning person. Turning over, large hands rubbed at his face as he sat up groggily, letting his feet slump off the side of the bed and hit the cool dark wood of his floor. He side glanced the machine that was still sounding from its awkward hanging place in front of his nightstand, picking it up and properly clicking the 'off' button.

The male shuffled across his floor, standing before his closet he threw open the doors and grabbed the first things his fingers touched which, fortunately, matched. Dark grey jeans that were just tight enough to fit perfectly were pulled on before an even darker purple button up was added over a black tank top. His scowl deepened as lucidity began to fully get its grasp on him; he had to meet that new employee today. Chances were the guy would be a complete bastard, as far as he was concerned. Though, in Grimmjow's mind he only had two categories that he'd undoubtedly fall into. One being a completely nausea-inducing kiss ass, the second being another young asshole who didn't have a fucking clue about anything that spewed from his mouth. Both made the bluenette sincerely sick to his stomach though he supposed he'd have to endure it. The only thing that made it a bit easier was Shawlong's impression of the kid. He liked him, and Shawlong didn't get along with many people let alone like them. It counted for something regardless of how small that something was and Grimmjow would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit interested in how the carrot-top turned out to be. He smirked.

_Though really he's more of a strawberry.. Hmm, a berry through and through to his name_.

After giving himself a once over in the mirror and running water through his unruly blue hair, Grimmjow turned the corner and walked sluggishly down the hall, coming into the living room where Nnoitra was sitting with a cup of coffee.

"Mornin' Grimmy." His smile almost ate up his entire face in its wake.

"Don't fuckin' call me that, asshole..." The one who had yet to fully awaken slurred his speech at the ravenette, gruffly walking past him to get a cup before leaving for work.

"Forgot'cher not that much of a mornin' person." His grin remained in place as one violet eye watched him over the rim of his mug.

Grimmjow grunted in response, not willing to waste the energy in actually answering. He poured himself a cup of coffee, black with a spoon of sugar, and downed it quickly before wiping his mouth and turning to head for the door.

"How the hell did'ya not burn yer damn mouth?!" Nnoitra's voice was more on the incredulous side as he half gaped at the other, causing Grimmjow to chuckle.

"Dunno, really." He shrugged, grabbing his keys off the counter. "Don't give a shit though if it lets me leave quicker."

"Hate me that much, eh?" Grimmjow could almost hear the smile in his voice as he opened the front door to leave.

"Don't trash my house while I'm gone."

The drive to Pantera didn't take long, ten minutes maximum though granted Grimmjow did tend to drive over the speed limit. He was never one for patience and the idea of slowing himself down for no other reason than a sign was idiotic. Pulling into his usual parking space he switched the ignition of his steel grey Dodge Charger off and made his way into work. Shawlong was already there, no surprise, wiping down the counters with some disinfectant wipes. The guy was a neat freak if he ever saw one and sometimes tended to lean towards having a germ phobia.

"Good morning, Grimmjow-sama." The male noted, not bothering to look up from his task. Grimmjow grunted in response, nodding his head though the other wasn't looking.

"Yeah." He replied gruffly, seeming less than enthused with mornings in general. He walked past the bar on the way to his office, running a hand through his hair as he did so. Looking down at the watch on his wrist he saw it was a little past nine am; so he had been running late this morning.

"Don't forget sir! The-" Shawlong's sentence was cut off by the bluenette waving an annoyed hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. The new guy's comin' in for training today." His fingers went to the bridge of his nose. "An' if I don't like him I get to kick his ass to the curb right?" He smirked.

"You agreed to give him one week due to my judgement." The other's voice was slightly hesitant.

Grimmjow cursed under his breath, recalling the conversation. Even though he'd know right off the bat whether he'd like the guy or not, and considering Grimmjow never liked anyone the odds weren't exactly in his favor. "Tch." Without saying anything else the male opened the door to his office and walked inside, sitting down at his desk and diving into a stack of paperwork he wished didn't exist.

* * *

The shower had been relaxing enough, almost got him to the point where he wasn't nervous for his job training. Almost. It wasn't like he was afraid, it's just that when you hear that your soon-to-be boss is a big enough asshole to make others want to quit well, it can get to a person. Ichigo stared at himself in the mirror with a seemingly blank expression. If this guy was a dick he'd be no different than any of the others he'd come into contact with over the course of his life. If he was used to anything it was dealing with people who pissed him off though granted he never said he dealt with them well. The hardest part of his new job may very well be not decking this guy in the face. Then again, braid guy didn't seem like that much of a people person either so maybe he was just talking out of his ass anyways? Truly he had no idea what to expect. Anything he had already heard could have just been nothing. Just a guy who didn't like his boss and who knows maybe he didn't do his job in the first place. Ichigo sighed, turning from the bathroom and down the hall to get dressed, it was almost two o'clock and standing around trying to make sense out of the conversation he had yesterday wasn't going to get him anywhere. He just needed to bite the bullet and see for himself.

He dressed in light wash denim skinny jeans and a monochrome plaid button up over a black grey tank top. Usually he tended to stay away from black clothing considering it clashed outrageously with his hair color, though he liked this shirt on him. After making sure he didn't need anything else Ichigo began the walk to Pantera, it wouldn't take him long; maybe fifteen minutes max. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket the teen saw that it was 2:35pm, so he'd get there a few minutes early. At least he'd make a good impression as far as being punctual was concerned. The male kicked a rock along the way, hands in his pockets until he had to cross the street in front of the bar, amber hues darted to the brick wall where that guy had stood the morning before. His heart thudded louder in his chest and he cursed himself under his breath for having such a stupid response. His brows pulled down into a scowl, really he wasn't gay. Never liked a guy in his entire life and it wasn't as if he liked one now either! Ichigo grit his teeth pushing the thought from his mind as he pulled open the door to see braid-guy mopping the floor.

"Uh, hey." Ichigo called out lamely, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Shawlong looked up from what he was doing, a small smile crossing his face as he leaned the mop up against the wall and came over towards Ichigo. "I haven't told you my name yet, have I?" His voice was thoughtful as he spoke, like he truly couldn't remember if he had or not.

"No..You didn't." The orangette wasn't about to voice that he'd come up with a nickname for him despite that.

"It's Shawlong."

_Shawlong?_ Ichigo thought to himself. _The hell kinda name is that?_

Ichigo nodded his head, not quite sure what to say. The other, thankfully, spoke up again after a few moments.

"Let me go get the boss to introduce you two." Without waiting for a response from Ichigo he turned to leave, walking over to a door and entering after a couple of knocks. The orangette hadn't noticed how nervous he was until he jumped slightly when the door reopened, Shawlong coming out of the entrance first. The male following him had Ichigo's eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

_No way. No fucking way it's him. How the- What? No! I can't- What am I even saying? Why the hell do I care?_

He gulped audibly, trying to keep his expression unreadable.

"This is Ichigo, sir." Shawlong stepped back, allowing the other to move forward as if he were sizing him up.

"Huh." The bluenette responded, stepping closer to Ichigo as sapphire eyes moved over him before a smirk pulled his lips up. "So this is Berry-boy."

Ichigo couldn't believe how large the guy's grin was, it seemed almost feral. His eyes were much more shocking up close and- did he seriously just call him "Berry-boy"? The teen scowled, his upper lip twitching with distaste for the name. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Making fun of his hair and his name when he had a mop that looked like cotton candy! He grit his teeth, holding in the 'fuck you' that he wanted to let fly.

"The name's Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and I'm your boss." He said the last part as if it were a taunt, though perhaps Ichigo only heard it that way. He already hated this guy. The way he carried himself and spoke, it was all so fucking arrogant he couldn't stand it!

"Fantastic." He managed to get out, showing no small amount of sarcasm in his tone. He wanted to rein it in and hadn't really meant for that much to seep into his word but as far as he was concerned the bastard had it coming for the name thing.

Grimmjow seemed slightly taken aback, his eyes widening slightly at the other before he too scowled. The look was menacing and for a split second Ichigo wondered if he had answered too out of line.

"I'll do his training, Shaw." The bluenette's voice was lower than it had been initially, and lacked the humor. Ichigo didn't know whether he wanted to punch the guy in the face or get the hell out of dodge. He clenched his jaw, choosing to stay silent as Shawlong bowed slightly before leaving the room. Great, now he was alone with this asshole.

Cyan hues looked him over and Ichigo wished he didn't notice how bright and intense they were. "Alright, Strawberry here's the deal-"

"It's Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki." The other bit out.

"Excuse me?" Grimmjow's tone was less than amused.

"My name. It's not strawberry or any combination of the word. So don't call me that." Amber hues averted themselves to the floor. Grimmjow's smirk returned full force as a bout of laughter erupted from him.

"Alright, _Kurosaki_. How's that?" His tone, it seemed light enough but for some reason it just set Ichigo on edge. Why was he hating this guy more and more with every word that left his mouth?

"S'better." He muttered, still looking away.

"There a reason you ain't lookin' at me?" He cocked a blue brow up, crossing his arms over his chest.

_Maybe because I don't like your face._ He wanted to say.

Grimmjow's lack of patience spoke for itself when he decided Ichigo not answering for a number of seconds was too long. "Ya didn't seem to have a problem starin' at me yesterday morning." He grinned.

Ichigo paled noticeably. Why the hell did this guy have to remember? They had only looked at each other for a split second before he turned away! Shit..

"Fuck off, I wasn't staring at you." This did nothing but cause Grimmjow's grin to somehow get larger.

"No? What would you call it then?"

"Are you gonna train me or not?" _Bastard._ He wanted to add. But considering he's already gone for a 'fuck off' he didn't want to push it. This guy was an asshole but he was still he boss, new boss at that; and Ichigo really did need this job.

* * *

Grimmjow really hadn't known what to expect when he saw his new employee. He knew it was that guy from the previous morning. The one who had stared at him for some unknown reason, which had royally pissed the bluenette off. Who the hell did he think he was to gawk at him like that? In any case that was hardly on his mind as he attempted to hold back his smirk. This kid was feisty and had the nerve to mouth off to him?

_Well this is gonna be pretty damn interesting._

"Yeah, alright, Berry. Let's get ta trainin'." The grin on his face clearly evident as his hands found their way to his pocket.

"Oi! What the hell!?" The orangette's face scowled up at him, the guy was a good handful of inches shorter than Grimmjow but not too much. "Thought you were gonna call me by my name!"

"I can call you whatever the fuck I want, got it?" He leaned back a bit. "Unless you wanna refer to me as 'Mr. Jaegerjaquez'?" He almost laughed when he saw Ichigo's shocked expression.

"Bastard..." The teen muttered, turning away from him slightly.

"That's what I thought. So I'll let'cha call me 'Grimmjow'. And you leave me the hell alone about what I call ya. Sound fair, Berry?" The taller male showed off a sideways view of perfect white teeth as he grinned.

"Tch. Whatever." Ichigo muttered, already wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of here. "So what do we do first?" He asked, still avoiding eye contact.

Grimmjow's brows furrowed slightly, he had never trained anyone before and didn't really know what to have Ichigo do considering the place wouldn't see any customers for a couple hours.

"Why dont'cha mop the floor?" He offered.

"What!? When I came in Shawlong was already mopping the floor!" His voice was caught off guard, it wasn't the training he thought he'd be going through to work in a bar.

"Yeah. Yer right." He eyed the large bucket of dirty water that the mop was sitting in. If this guy wanted to be a difficult bastard then they'd play ball. Walking over to it, hands still in his pockets, Grimmjow kicked the bucket over, murky brown colored water overflowing and spilling out onto the floor away from him. Ichigo jumped back to avoid having it course over his shoes. "Oops." Sapphire eyes shot up to amber with a look that almost begged to be tested. "Clean that up." Turning around to return to his office Grimmjow waved his hand over head halfheartedly. "Come tell me when yer done."

His boots thudded dully on the tile as he made his way to his office, shutting the door behind him and leaving the kid to his task. He sat down at his desk, elbows on its surface as he rubbed his hands over his face. What the hell was up with that guy. Grimmjow clenched his jaw. He wasn't used to having people so outwardly talk back to him like that and he wasn't sure how to take it.

_It's fuckin' exhilarating.. _

He cursed under his breath, letting his fist hit the dark wood. He was seriously twisted, a real fucked up guy to feel on edge because some mouthy teenager told him to fuck off. Then again, no one ever spoke to him like that, except for Nnoitra and that bastard didn't count. Chances were this kid was just some asshole who'd had everything handed to him in his life and now thought he had the right to talk to anybody however he damn well pleased. Grimmjow scoffed at the thought. Ichigo Kurosaki would turn out to be just as weak and spineless as everyone else. Just like them he'd be a disappointment, the bluenette had no doubts about this.

* * *

Ichigo could do nothing but stand there in shock as he watched the water spill out onto the floor, the clean floor might he add. He scowled, glaring after his boss as he disappeared into his office. Well this was great. If he had had any expectation of how today would pan out this definitely wasn far worse than anything his brain could have conjured. He knew the guy would be a handful, that much Shalong had given him the heads up on. But this? This much!? Ichigo ground his teeth as he rung out the mop and began to sop up the mess, keeping in mind what the other had said about not quitting.

_Tch, if they really needed someone that bad you'd think that dick would be more appreciative._

After a while he finally managed to get the mess cleaned up, though considering all Grimmjow's little stunt did was just make the entire floor a wreck again, Ichigo decided to switch out the water and re-mop. Once he finished, wiping his hand over his brow, the male sighed out of relief. He had no idea how long that had taken him and didn't want to chance getting caught with his phone out to check. Chocolate orbs glanced up at the window, it looked like it was getting dark outside maybe people would start showing up. He drug the bucket and the mop to the back room only to find Shawlong within it taking inventory.

"Uh, hey. Where do I put this?" Ichigo asked hesitantly.

Shawlong seemed to be snapped out of his internal thoughts, giving Ichigo a questioning look. "You mopped the floor?"

"Che. Guess you could say that." He muttered, raking a hand through his hair. The other held a knowing expression.

"Grimmjow-sama is giving you a lot of trouble already." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. And for some reason the idea of anyone calling him "-sama" pissed him off.

"If you call 'trouble' kicking over a bucket filled with dirty water for no damn reason, then yeah." He already felt exhausted but couldn't have been at the place for more than two hours.

Shawlong nodded, almost seeming irritated himself. "You can just set the those in here, it's where we keep them anyways."

Ichigo grunted in response, pulling the bucket into the room and turning without saying another word to the other, not like there was much to say anyways. He padded over to the door that was Grimmjow's office, reaching up to knock on the thick wood, albeit hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He heard a muffled response come from within.

"Uh. I finished." Was he supposed to go in?

"Well open the fuckin' door!" Guess that was a yes.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, turning the knob and opening it slightly he stepped inside; surprised to see an actual, some-what organized, office.

"I finished." He explained again.

"Good. Now re-mop the floor since it's dirty again." Sapphire hues pulled themselves up from the paper and made contact with Ichigo's. The male subsequently felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"Already did that." He answered after a moment, not wanting to think about why he reacted that way.

Grimmjow seemed caught off guard by this. A single blue brow cocking up as if to indicate his skepticism.

"Go ahead and see for yourself." Ichigo muttered. He jutted his jaw in the general direction of the door, at some point his arms had become crossed over his chest.

"Fine." Grimmjow stood up from his desk, walking towards the door that Ichigo was standing in front of. The orangette was suddenly hyper aware of his proximity, eyes traveling up to see where the other had stopped. "You wanna move out of the way?" He asked, suddenly smirking and leaning forward slightly. "Or are ya into this kinda stuff, Berry?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as he quickly moved to the side, allowing Grimmjow to pass. "Sick bastard!" His tone was more than shocked as he felt a small blush heat his cheeks, a blush which thankfully Grimmjow didn't see.

The bluenette continued to hold onto his grin out into the main bar, taking notice of the floor. Cyan hues side glancing at Ichigo every so often. "Looks alright." He muttered finally, one hand in his pocket and the other raking through light blue strands.

"So-" Ichigo's question was cut off by a small bell ringing at the front of the bar as a guy with bright pink hair walked casually inside.

_Pink hair? The hell is this, a convention?_

Ichigo eyed the male, genuinely not knowing what to do considering the only training he'd received had been "how-to-deal-with-grown-men-who-acted-like-five-year-olds-101". Grimmjow looked up from the floor, scowling at who he saw come in.

"The hell do you want, Szayel?" His tone was annoyed and disinterested. As if he really didn't like this guy.

_Is that really how he treats his customers? No wonder the place is goin' under._

"Oh, don't be such a _brute,_ Grimmjow. Is that any way to treat your brother?" The male's tone was slightly mocking and flamboyant though still deep in it's own way.

"Tch. Step brother, asshole." He corrected.

"So you always love to point out." He shook a finger back and forth as if to chide him as he took a seat at the bar stool closest to them. "And this charming thing is?" He inquired, while Ichigo scowled at being referred to as a 'charming thing'.

"S'my new employee. Kurosaki." Ichigo arched an eyebrow considering Grimmjow dropped the 'Berry' routine.

"Ah! Am I correct in assuming you are a member of the Kurosaki family that owns the clinic not far from here?" He rested his chin in his hands, golden eyes falling on Ichigo.

"Uh, yeah." He answered dully, a little surprised that someone knew of their clinic. Grimmjow turned to look at him subtley, obviously having had no idea about the place.

"Marvelous. Your father does excellent work. I had a dear friend receive stitched from him due to a gash.." He trailed off momentarily. "Isshin, was it?" Though the tone of his voice was pleasant enough, being questioned by the guy was slightly unnerving. Ichigo couldn't put a finger on it exactly but he just got a weird vibe from the guy.

"Che', like you have any fuckin' friends." Grimmjow remarked offhandedly before Ichigo could answer.

"I don't believe I was talking to _you_, oh brother of mine." He flashed a smile that seemed almost seductive before turning his focus back to Ichigo.

"Yeah that's him." The orangette answered finally.

The conversation was cut off by the bell ringing off periodically, people wandering in at around the time Grimmjow had expected. He glanced down at his watch, cursing under his breath.

"Kurosaki!" He called, already walking over to the bar as he beckoned the other with his fingers. Ichigo followed with less irritation due to his correct name being used, idly wondering where the male's joking demeanor had gone. Szayel watched them both a little more closely than Ichigo had liked

"Yeah?" He questioned, coming up alongside him.

"How good are ya with drinks?" Sapphire hues swiveled to meet dead on with Ichigo's. He gulped, hating himself instantly for doing so.

_God dammit! Quit lookin' at me and just let me hate you, asshole!_

"Not so good considering you didn't teach me shit." He remarked, slightly annoyed.

Grimmjow ran another hand through his hair, Ichigo picked up that it must be a habit of his. "I don't need the shit right now, alright? What _do_ you know then?"

_He didn't need the shit!?_

Ichigo's brows furrowed slightly as he thought about it, deciding that he had a pretty basic knowledge on what mixed with what on a general sense. "As long as people don't order somethin' too out of the ordinary I should be fine."

"Good." He nodded his head, turning to walk away before smirking over his shoulder. "Don't disappoint me Berry, I'm countin' on ya."

As he walked past and returned to his office Szayel looked from him to a very nervous looking Ichigo and grinned. "Might I ask, when you started?"

The question confused the orangette who had moved to stand behind the middle of the bar, causing Szayel to switch seats so he could remain in front of him. "Ah, today." He answered, elicting a raised eyebrow from the pinkette.

"Is that so?" His eyes drifted back over to the closed door of Grimmjow's office. Ichigo didn't respond, instead conversing with another who sat in the seat next to Szayel and asked for sake. Ichigo sighed in relief at how simple his request was. Before he knew it the place had a good amount of people inside, groups were seated along the bar and at tables as well, while another section of the place consisted of a couple pool tables which had people huddled around them. Ichigo looked up to see Shawlong tending to people out away from the bar, his ears picking up music that had been turned on at some point.

After noticing Szayel surveying the crowd Ichigo decided to ask the question that had began to fester. "Why?" He called out over the music. Szayel looked over at him with a questioning look.

"Why do I ask, I presume you mean?" To which Ichigo nodded.

"Ah, well. My brother. He's quite, odd, around you." Golden eyes flicked back up to amber.

It took all of Ichigo's strength not to laugh in this guy's face. "Odd? As in a complete fucking asshole? Yeah, I gathered."

The other merely laughed a thick chuckle. "No, you misunderstand." He paused to re-position his glasses. "That nickname? 'Berry' as he calls you. It's a joke. I can see he has fun with that."

Ichigo didn't see where this guy was going, but it seemed to him he was just plain staking the obvious. Without anything to really respond with, the orangette furrowed his brows further, waiting for the other to continue.

"He doesn't joke with _anyone_, Ichigo Kurosaki. And I do wonder why he has chosen to, with you." His eyes flicked up to hold contact as he ended the sentence.

"Tch, probably needed new ways to be a bastard." He muttered, walking a bit down the bar to help another customer with a Martini. A drink, thankfully, Ichigo also new how to make.

The night proceeded on without much trouble, Szayel stuck around in the same spot and helped Ichigo make the drinks he had no idea about. The music that was on the playlist was actually pretty good as far as he was concerned, and he quickly found himself wrapped up in what he was doing, not paying attention to the time. Grimmjow emerged from his office a few hours later, or so he guessed, walking up to the bar with a smirk on his face.

"Fuck anything up yet?" His tone was mocking as if he already expected the answer.

"On the contrary, Grimmjow your new meat is on par." Szayels smooth voice sung out from the side of the bluenette. The taller male's facial expression shifted instantly, his upper lip twitching in irritation.

"Why the hell are you still here?" He asked, blue eyes staring daggers into the pinkette.

Szayel sighed. "So hostile to family." His tone was mock dramatic. "At any rate I suppose I should be leaving. And, Ichigo. Do keep in mind what I said." He grinned before standing up from the bar and turning to leave without another word.

* * *

Grimmjow's annoyance level tripled when he saw that his asshole of a step brother was still hanging around, though it did perk his interest when he mentioned 'keeping something in mind' to Ichigo. Cocking an eyebrow he turned to look at the orangette.

"The hell was that about?" The other seemed either annoyed himself or confused by the sentence as well. Though he simply rolled his eyes and went back to wiping down the counter in an area where someone had knocked over their shot.

"Nothin'." He muttered, tossing the rag behind him into a small basket.

Grimmjow scoffed. "Bullshit. With him it's never nothin'." Sapphire hues seemed to bore into Ichigo's head.

"If ya really wanna know, he was telling me to watch out because you're such a damn bastard. I told him I already figured that out." He reciprocated the smirk Grimmjow had given him, causing the bluenette to narrow his eyes.

"That so?" He questioned, unconvinced.

"So hard to believe?" Ichigo's smirk remained in place.

"Tch." He averted his eyes, scanning the crowd that remained. "Yer shift's over in any case."

Ichigo seemed surprised considering he had absolutely no idea what time it was. "What time is it?"

"9pm." Grimmjow answered, turning back to look at him.

"Shit it's that late!?" He managed to say at a somewhat normal level.

"Yeah so get the fuck outta here." He waved a hand over his shoulder as he took Ichigo's place behind the bar "Tomorrow, same time, Berry." Ichigo didn't look back to see the smirk that he knew would be on the male's face, and the eyes that would be looking at him.

"Yeah, see ya." He called out before walking briskly out of the building.

The night seemed to drag on forever, but what was new? After finally closing at around 2am, Grimmjow was able to go home. Unlocking his front door and opening it he was greeted by Nnoitra on the couch watching tv, his violet hue flicking up at his entrance.

"The hell are you doin' still awake?" He muttered, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Twilight Zone marathon." He replied, looking back to the screen. The look on Grimmjow's face was completely shocked.

"You watch the fuckin Twilight Zone?" He asked incredulously.

"Don't look so surpised, Kitty." He grinned, knowing the nickname would piss him off and needing a bit of retaliation for the assumption about him. "This show's got some creepy shit in it. Assholes get what's comin' to 'em. And bitches stay in line." He said the last part an octave lower than the rest.

"Dunno about that last part. Ain't there one about some chick planning to poison her husband or some shit?" He chuckled.

"Tch. Whatever. Still creepy." His attention was turned back to the flatscreen where the monochrome series showed some little kid who apparently could wish people into cornfields.

"Well knock yerself out there, big guy. I ain't stickin' around for some show about an entire town freakin' out over some punk kid." The blunette began to to turn away, heading for the stairs.

"S'not just some punk kid though! This asshole's scary as fuck!"

"Yeah, yeah. Have a blast." Grimmjow chuckled as he made his way up the stairs, quickly changing and then climbing into bed. He sighed, breathing in deeply as he peered over at the open window. Why couldn't he stop thinking about him? He turned over quickly on his side, one arm underneath his pillow as he pulled it closer to himself. Grimmjow didn't know how to put it, and that fact alone pissed him off. The guy was mouthy and said whatever the hell he wanted, that should've pissed him off more. And yet, the only thing he could think about what making Ichigo blush again like he did in his office when he thought Grimmjow didn't see.

Sapphire eyes stared out into the darkness of his room, confusion riddling their irises. Ever since that morning when he made eye contact with him, Grimmjow couldn't get Ichigo out of his head. Couldn't get his eyes out of his mind. The idea had him scowling whenever he so much as thought about it. It was unlike him to want to laugh or make jokes with anyone, even if it was at their expense. After tossing and turning for an hour or so the bluenette finally drifted to sleep, a single though crossing his mind.

_The hell is this kid doin' to me? Those fuckin' brown eyes... God dammit. _

* * *

Ichigo had practically ran home, hearing a scolding from Yuzu about eating dinner at a usual hour and receiving a flying kick from Isshin though he felt bad about it afterwords once Ichigo explained where he had been. Flopping down on his bed, amber hues stared up at his ceiling, a much unwanted blush creeping its way onto his cheeks as he recalled the day. He really hated that guy. How the hell could such a bastard piss him off so badly and yet make his breath catch in his throat just by looking at him?

_What the hell is wrong with me? I'm not gay!_

Turning over on his stomach Ichigo buried his face into his pillow, cursing himself out internally. He'd never had this reaction to a guy before, hell he'd never had this kind of reaction to another person before! Those eyes. Bright, shocking sapphire eyes. How the hell was he supposed to ignore them? They just seemed to pierce everything they looked at, as if nothing could remain hidden in their view. The teen looked up to turn his lamp off, kicking his jeans away from his body and getting underneath the blankets before turning back over. It seemed this was already gearing up to be a restless night.

"Tch, fucking bastard." He muttered aloud to himself, crossing his arms behind his head.

That would be the first night that Ichigo Kurosaki dreamt of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

* * *

A/N Ok! I am soooooo sorry this took me so long! I am such a procrastinator I swear... So gomenesai! Anyways, what did you guys think? I'm happy to bring Szayel into the picture although Grimmy-chan isn't very nice to him is he? I'd really appreciate reviews to know how I'm doing! Also, be prepared for flashbacks to Ichigo's dream in the next chapter, don't worry I wouldn't leave you guys not knowing what happened! Maybe some yaoi will finally make its appearance? Anyways I'll go now~ Thanks for reading guys!

P.S: One last thing, I apologize for any spelling errors in the first chapter. I rushed my editing -_- I hope this one is better and that there are little to none :)


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